New Swansea postmaster certainly knows the area

Wednesday

Oct 28, 2009 at 12:01 AMOct 29, 2009 at 3:27 PM

By BILL HALL

By BILL HALL

Associate Editor

SWANSEA — Craig Lyne, who has spent 11 years in various capacities with the United States Post Office, was sworn in as the postmaster of the Swansea office during a ceremony held at the office on Thursday.

Mr. Lyne, a 1975 graduate of Somerset High School, was accompanied by his son, Tyler, when taking the oath of office delivered by Steven Lachapelle, senior manager for Post Office operations in Southeastern New England.

Others on hand included Dan Doyle, postmaster of Providence, Rhode Island, Judy Glover, former Swansea postmaster and now serving that post in Bristol, R.I. and Gina Laurie, who is the Seekonk postmaster.

Mr. Lyne has been the Officer in Charge at the Swansea office since John Carroll was appointed as postmaster in Franklin.

Also present was retired North Dighton Postmaster Kenneth Mello who gave Mr. Lyne his first position in the Post Office.

Lynne Senecal, of the Swansea Post Office, was the master of ceremonies, noting that she has worked with Mr. Lyne for the last few years and found him to be a great teacher and leader.

The ceremony opened with a Pledge of Allegiance to the flag that Mr. Lyne's grandfather Manuel Andrade, had when he first came to this country in 1911.

"My grandfather came to Ellis Island in 1911 and had this flag," said Mr. Lyne. "I'm proud of my heritage and my grandfather would have been happy to know we had this flag here."

Mr. Mello was the first speaker recalling how Mr. Lyne was making a career change and was someone he felt had a lot of potential. Mr. Mello added that he kept in touch as Mr. Lyne rose through the ranks.

Ms. Glover also pointed to Mr. Lyne's leadership skills and how he took on tough tasks.

Mr. Doyle noted that he first met Mr. Lyne when he worked in Brockton and was impressed with the way he ran the floor. The Providence postmaster noted that when he saw that Mr. Lyne could handle overwhelming tasks, he gave him a job in Fall River.

"He handles the job with skill and ease," Mr. Doyle said.

Mr. Lachapelle noted that Mr. Lyne was an easy choice for him to become the Swansea postmaster. He praised Mr. Lyne's skills as the officer in charge and that he interviewed well, citing customer service as a core function. Mr. Lachapelle described Swansea as an active Post Office and that Mr. Lyne was able to cope with the difficult economic times that have impacted everyone.

Mr. Lyne noted that he was "overwhelmed" by the honor and was very appreciative to be named the postmaster.

He cited Mr. Mello as a major influence, pointing out that "If it were not for him I would not be here today. He gave great advice."

Mr. Lyne also praised Ms. Glover for her insight.

Mr. Lyne noted that he was born in Fall River and grew up in Somerset and has family in both Somerset and Swansea.

He thanked Mr. Lachapelle for naming him to the position and said that he will work with desire, dedication and determination."

He praised the workers of the Post Office who he noted "collectively, we can accomplish a great deal." Some of the workers were present during the ceremony.

"It has been refreshing to come to Swansea," said Mr. Lyne, "I plan to live up to the expectations."